Somewhat Damaged
by FemmePhantom
Summary: Fifteen years have passed, and Jack has moved on.  At least until she comes a cross a Riddick she never thought she'd see.  M for adult themes.  Dark fic people.  Eventual RJ.
1. The Demon You Know

**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it ain't mine.**

The corridor was dark, with only the red, illuminated exit sign at the end to light her way. But the closer she got towards the door, the farther away it seemed. Her footfalls echoed as she walked, her senses on red alert.

_Sure that someone was following her, she quickly turned around, only to be confronted with the darkness she'd left in her wake. Shaking slightly, she turned back around and walked a little faster towards the exit._

_She suddenly stopped again, convinced she was hearing another set of footsteps behind her. But the footsteps stopped when she did, and all she heard was the rapid thundering of her heart._

"_Hello?" she called out. "I know you're out there." Silence was her only answer. "This isn't funny anymore. Stop playing around!"_

_This time she got an answer. A low, threatening laughter that made goose bumps break out on her flesh. She was now running all out towards the exit, and away from the laughter that seemed to cocoon her._

_She could see the door now, it was just within her reach, but as her hand stretched out, a towering figure jumped out of the shadows and blocked her path._

_A high-pitched scream escaped before she could stop it, and she halted in her tracks, unable to move or look away from the demon blocking the exit. A triumphant growl came from the shadowy figure, and his eyes shimmered like diamonds in the darkness._

_He took one step closer to her, and his feral smile shone at her out of the black that surrounded him. One of his hands reached out to her, inexorably slowly. Frozen with fear, she forgot to move, forgot to breathe, forgot to scream for help._

_His fingers were surprisingly warm and gentle as they closed around her neck, moving up and down, almost like a caress. She let out a small gasp, and this seemed to wake her demon from his trance as he threw her against the wall._

_Her head hit the wall hard enough to make her see stars, and bite down on her tongue, making it bleed._

_She whimpered in fear as the fiend forced himself closer, pressing his face into the crook of her neck, and breathing in her scent. _

"_Please," she begged, causing some of the hot, coppery fluid to dribble down her chin. _

_The demon had caught the scent of blood, and his eyes flashed again. He slowly ran the tip of his tongue up the side of her throat until it reached her chin._

_Then he lightly lapped at the red fluid, sending shivers of fear down her spine. _

_She gasped out in shock as his mouth closed over her chin and began to suck every last trace of blood from her skin. Her body began to shudder uncontrollably as his teeth nibbled their way up to her bottom lip._

_He teased and taunted it before drawing it between his teeth and siphoning some more of blood into his mouth. His brutal, yet gentle, ministrations were slowly driving her insane. She didn't know whether to weep in fear, or joy._

_His tongue was making sweeping motions in her mouth, now. Toying with hers as he tried to taste every last drop of blood her bite had caused._

_The demon captured her bottom lip with his teeth once again pulled away from her, releasing it only moments before it became painful._

_Breathless, she asked, "Who are you?"_

_His voice was as cold as the steel that glinted from his eyes. "We've met before, Jack. You're the only one to see me and live to tell about it."_

_A mirthless chuckle made her knees almost give out, and his hand around her neck was the only thing keeping her upright._

"_They say most of your brain shuts down in cryo-sleep. All but the primitive side, the animal side…"_

"Jack, WAKE UP!"

Jack shot up out of bed and mumbled, "Who wazzit?"

"Come on sleepyhead. We're going to be late."

As the room came into focus, Jack saw her neighbor and best friend, Taylor, looking very elegant and annoyed at the same time. Her curly hair hung loose around her shoulders, and there was a stiletto tapping somewhere under the midnight blue evening gown.

"Late for what?"

Disgusted, Taylor threw a hand on her waif-thin hip, and began to scold her friend.

"Late for what?! Why only for the social event of the season! Tonight is the night of Nick's big promotion, and you know his company throwing a huge celebration. It's been all he could talk about for the past three months…"

"Shit!" Jack exclaimed as she threw the covers off and jumped out of bed. "I wanted to take a quick nap before we went out tonight. What time is it?"

"Ugh! It's 6:00 Jack, and Nick said he and Austin would be here to pick us up at seven. Which _means _that they'll be here at a quarter till."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Jack answered as she grabbed her towel and headed into the bathroom. "Don't worry. I'll be ready in time."

"You better be," Taylor called to her retreating back. "I'm not going to listen to your boyfriend complain the whole night if we're late."

* * *

As Jack sat at her vanity, putting on the finishing touches of her makeup, Taylor spoke up from behind her.

"So, what were you dreaming about anyways? You were making all kinds of weird noises."

Thankful that any natural blush was hidden beneath her rouge, she quickly shrugged it off.

"I don't remember."

The two girls made eye contact in the mirror, and the look Jack got said Taylor wasn't buying it.

But before she could say anything, the doorbell rang. "6:45 on the dot," Taylor said with a smirk. "What did I tell you?" Pointing a finger at Jack, she said, "_You_, finish getting ready. _I'll _get the door.

Jack stood up and walked over to her full-length mirror, wanting to take one final look at her ensemble before they left for the party. She shook out the skirt of her black dress, and made sure she didn't have any lines from her deodorant on it. The label said 'black dress approved', but it never hurt to be careful.

Satisfied there was nothing there, she made sure the "V" of her front was tastefully in place, put on some lipgloss, and pulled a few strands of her hair loose, before she was satisfied with the final result.

"Sweatheart, come on," she heard Nick call from the other room. "We're going to be late."

She let out cross between a huff and a laugh before she called out. "I'll be right there. Keep your shirt on."

After one last check in the mirror to see if she had anything on her teeth, she grabbed her wrap and left the room.

Upon entering, the man of the hour reached out for her to twirl her around. "Well, I was going to say something about you making me late for my own party, but I can see that it was worth the wait."

Jack allowed herself to be twirled about and brought into his arms. "I don't know why you're making such a fuss, Nick. You're 15 minutes early, so technically, I'm not late," she said as she smiled up at him.

"When you're right, you're right my darling," he answered before he placed a quick kiss on her lips. "Are you ready to go."

Jack waved her clutch in front of him, eyes flashing mischievously, "Of course I am. Are you?"

"Oh, enough of this," Taylor exclaimed standing next to an amused, but silent, Austin. "You're both ready, and you both look fantastic. Now we really do need to get a move on or we really will be late!"

Nick quirked an eyebrow at Jack, as if to say 'she's your friend.'

"Alright," he said as he steered Jack out of her apartment. "Let's get going. You know how upset Taylor will get if all the food's gone before we get there."

* * *

**A/N: So, do we like it? And don't panic. This is going to be an R/J fic. You get to meet him in the next chapter. Or do you…This fic is also going to be kind of dark, and heavy on the angst. Fair warning.**

**OH – And Happy Birthday to my favorite Ninja. I know it's a few days late, but here ya go.**

**As always people, if you're a readin', please be reviewin'.**

**Much love,**

**FemmePhantom**


	2. The Caged Beast

**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it ain't mine.**

* * *

"Hey there foxy lady," Taylor said as she bumped hips with Kyra and handed her a glass of champagne. 

"Hey Tay, glad to see you're enjoying yourself."

Taylor snorted into her Martini glass giggling. "Of course I'm having fun. Free food, rubbing elbows with all the 'beautiful people', free food, decent music, free food, my asshat of a boyfriend doing his best not to crush my toes as we dance, and…"

"Free food," Kyra finished for her.

The two of them shared a laugh, and Taylor took a closer look at her friend.

"Well we know _I'm_ enjoying myself, but what about you girlfriend? The party isn't out here on the balcony. What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

Kyra shrugged. "Just needed some fresh air. Nick is in there 'networking' so I came out here to escape the business talk."

"Uh huh, so what else is bothering you?"

Kyra stared blankly at her friend. "What are you talking about, Tay?"

"We've been best friends since college. I know you've got something else on your mind. Spill it girl."

She laughed and slowly turned her drink around in her hands. "I was thinking about the dream I had earlier."

"Yeah, what of it?"

Kyra stared into her glass and tried to count how many bubbles were in it. "It…it was about a person I thought I'd forgotten about."

"Ooooh," Taylor cooed, her curiosity piqued. "An old flame?"

"No, nothing like that," Kyra said with a laugh. "He saved me once – more than once actually – but he left soon after that, and I haven't seen or heard from him since."

Taylor picked her toothpick out of her drink and bit off the olive. "So how long's it been since you seen this guy."

"A little over 15 years."

A long, building whistle came out of Taylor's pursed lips. "That's a long time alright. I wonder why you started dreaming of him all of a sudden."

Kyra shrugged her shoulders and wrapped her arms around herself. "I wish I knew."

"There you two are," a husky voice sounded from the doorway. The two girls turned around to see their boyfriends staring at them. Nick had his hands folded across his chest and Austin had his hands tucked into his pockets.

"I'm surprised you noticed I was missing at all, you had your lips planted so firmly on the director's ass," Kyra said with a smirk on her face.

Nick playfully grasped at his heart and took a step back. "Ouch! You wound me Kyra," he said as he headed towards her.

"Truth hurts, baby."

"Aww, come on. You know it's all part of the job," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I know, Nick. I was only teasing," she said taking his hand in hers.

"Ugh," groaned the heretofore silent Austin. "Would you two cut it out already?"

Kyra giggled and buried her face into Nick's shirt; breathing in his familiar scent and trying to drive all thoughts of the nightmare away.

Taylor playfully slapped her boyfriend on the arm. "Leave them alone. You know Austin, it wouldn't kill you to take some pointers from your friend over there?"

"What? Do you want me to start fawning all over Kyra, too? 'Cause if you really want me to baby, I will," he said with a wink.

"Don't even think about it," Nick called out. "She's already spoken for. So," he said to Kyra again, "are you liking the party?"

"It's great," she said nodding her head. "Who do we thank for the Carnival theme?"

The two men laughed. "I think that would be Bob from accounting," Nick said.

"Well I like it," Taylor piped up.

"Of course you do. You freak," Austin said in a playful undertone, earning him another slap from Taylor.

"Speaking of freaks," she said tugging on his arm, "let's go check out the sideshow. I've been _dying_ to get in all night but the line has been so long."

Kyra looked up at Nick. "Shall we?"

"Eh, might as well go and get this over with. With any luck Taylor will see some long lost relatives and they'll take her back."

* * *

To be perfectly honest, Kyra didn't want to go and look at the people in the sideshow for one simple reason. They. Were. People. They didn't deserve to be paraded around and gawked at because they were different. The whole thing made her skin crawl, but Taylor wanted to see it and she didn't want to make a scene in front of Nick and his co-workers. So she hesitantly followed them into the tent-like enclosure towards the end of the ballroom. 

She did her best to avoid looking at sideshow players as she and her group walked past them. Taylor 'oohed' and 'ahhed' as she giggled with Austin. Nick would occasionally make a comment to her, and Kyra would nod or just make a noncommittal 'uh huh'.

The feeling of unease only grew as they moved on. They'd passed the bearded lady, the strong man, the human pin cushion, and the lizard man, and Kyra found herself wondering if these people actually signed on for this kind of work, or if it was forced on them.

She felt dirty and she didn't like it. She kept telling herself that once they got to the end of the enclosure everything would be better. But the closer she got to the exit, the more her stomach churned and her skin broke out into goose bumps.

Finally they were at the last exhibit.

"The Wildman," Taylor read the sign in hushed wonder.

The four of them made their way over to the cage that housed him, and Kyra had to fight down the urge to retch.

What she saw appalled and horrified her. In the corner of the cage was a man hunched over, wearing filthy rag for clothes and his hair was so long and matted it completely shielded his face. There were scars and scabs all along his arms and his knuckles were torn and bloody.

"Hi there wild man," Taylor said coaxingly.

"Tay," Kyra tried to warn her as the man growled.

"It's okay, Kyra. This whole thing is just an act. You should know that," Taylor replied turning back to the caged man.

"Hey there Wildman," she continued. "How long you been with this setup?"

He growled again and sank down lower onto his haunches.

"Taylor, I don't think that's such a good idea," Kyra tried again. Taylor ignored her.

"What's the matter Wildman? Don't you feel like playing?" she leaned in closer as she tried to coax him out of his corner.

This time there was no growl. Just a stillness that had all of Kyra's senses on high alert.

"Come on Tay," she said stepping forward to pull her friend back. "Let's just -" was all she got out before the Wildman lunged forward and snaked a hand through the bars and latched into her hair.

Kyra heard Taylor scream and the two men yell, one for help, and the other at the Wildman. But Kyra wasn't paying attention to any of them. Her captor had pulled her flush against the bars and his now upright body, and she could feel the rage and power rolling off of him. The contrast between the coldness of the metal bars and the heat from his body sent chills down her spine.

The Wildman still had one hand firmly entangled in her hair that kept her from moving, but his other hand was currently on her throat, chocking the life out of her.

She struggled and scratched at his hands, and then suddenly froze. His matted hair had moved just long enough for her to get a glimpse of cloudy mercurial eyes before everything went black.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's taking so long between updates guys. My life has decided to get even crazier, which I didn't think was possible. I'm just not sure what I did to piss Loki off. Anyhoo, I'm working on the next chaps for "Hurt" and "Nothing to Lose". I haven't forgotten about NtL, just having a hard time with that story right now. C'est la vie.**

**As always people, if you're a readin', please be reviewin'.**

**Till next time my pretties.**

**Much love,**

**FemmePhantom**


End file.
